geoclassfandomcom-20200214-history
Arctic Basin
' Arctic Basin' Overview''' '"M'ost of the traditional impressions people have about Canada's Arctic are defined by the Arctic Basin Ecozone. This is essentially the parts of the Arctic Ocean that remain under permanent ice cover. It extends from the southern edge of the permanent ice line in the Beaufort Sea north and east over the Canada Basin of the northern tip of Greenland. It skirts the northern edge of the Queen Elizabeth Islands and touches the northern coast of Ellesmere Island. The overwhelming ecological characteristic of this ecozone is the constant cover of ice sheets and pack ice. More than 90% of the region consists of a giant permanent ice cap floating on the ocean. It slowly rotates in a counter-clockwise pattern, roughly centred on the North Pole. The rotation is driven by the Arctic Ocean Gyre, one of the main ocean currents. The heavily ridged ice reaches a thickness of 2 metres or more and islands of ice several kilometres square are common."(Arctic Basin marine ecozone) (Arctic basin marine ecozone map below) '''Landforms and Climate "T'''he Arctic Basin Ecozone is a true oceanic ecozone in that it touches almost no land except the north coast of Ellesmere Island. The undersea geography is dominated by the Canada Basin, which plummets to an average depth of about 3 600 metres. The Canada Basin extends from the Beaufort Sea almost to the North Pole, where it is bounded by the Lomonosov Ridge, a submarine mountain range rising to 1 000 metres below the ocean surface. Near the southern margin of the permanent ice pack, the Mackenzie River discharges a considerable plume of fresh water into the Beaufort Sea in the neighbouring Arctic Archipelago Ecozone. The climate is extremely cold and dry. In January, mean daily temperatures range from -30 to -35°C. In summer, the mean daily temperature rises only to a chilly 5°C. Annual precipitation ranges from 100 to 200 mm -- sparse compared with St. John's, Nfld., Canada's precipitation capital with 1 500 mm a year. And yet, against these most extreme conditions, there is life in Canada's Arctic." Wild Life "Vegetation in the Arctic Basin Ecozone must be very hardy to survive the permanent ice cover". Sunlight and nutrients are very limited in the arctic basin ecozone but there are many species of fish and organisms for the wildlife to live in this cold marine ecozone. Some of the wildlife vertabrates in this ecozone are: walruses, polar bears, belugas, narwhals, and multiple species of seals. These mammals are great hunters so it doesnt take to much painful agrovation to get a good meal for a usual meal. These animals usually eat fish. These mammals have multiple thick layers of fat so they can live and swim/hunt for fish in comfort and stay very warm, some of these animals even have thick fur as well. Along these big mammals, there are also many small invertabrates as well such as anemones (sea anemones are a group of tiny, predatory sea creatures/organisms), clams, worms, sea stars, and also sea spiders. As well as all these many species of fish, seals or polar bears etc, there is one unique bird that lives in this cold marine ecozone called the ivory gull. It survives mainly off of leftover meat on carcusses and fish or anything it can find. This life style is pretty crazy for a bird I'd say. Works Cited . "Arctic Basin Marine ecozone." Ecological Framework of Canada .N.P.,N.D. Web. Nov/20/13.http://ecozones.ca/english/zone/ArcticBasin/index.html.. "Arctic Basin Marine Ecozone." Ecological framework of Canada N.P.,N.D. Web. Nov/21/13.http://ecozones.ca/english/zone/ArcticBasin/land.html'''"Arctic Basin Ecozone"http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/cpe/environments/marine_water/ecozones/basin.htm.N.P.,N.D. Web. Nov/24/2013 (pg 2 citings ahead) "Arctic Basin Marine Ecozone." Ecological framework od Canada N.P.,N.D. Web 24/11/2013 http://ecozones.ca/english/zone/ArcticBasin/plants.html